The history of Tohatsu outboard engines

[Dog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIQxmsFl24s

[Dog]

I also found it interesting while shopping for an outboard that pretty much all small outboards (15-20hp and under) are made by Tohatsu in the same factory. The user interfaces are different but the engine is a tohatsu engine ....

Nissan's are Tohatsu's...
tohatsu signed a joint venture with mercury and BRP as well so in reality in the low end outboard range you either are buying a Tohatsu engine or a yamaha or suzuki...

Nissan's, Mercury's and Evinrudes are all rebranded tohatsu engines manufactured by Tohatsu. The prior are more expensive because of their brand recognition and resale value and what some deem more user friendly features on the tiller models.

If you google this subject a lot of discussion and articles will pop up to support this which will cause you likely to draw the same conclusion as I did above, which is why I chose a Tohatsu 20hp... same engine for several thousand dollars less.

some examples of what I discovered...  (I also reviewed the service manuals for the Tohatsu, Mercury, Nissan and Evinrude and the engine and lower end specs and maintenance are all exactly the same (minus the brand name) down to the maintenance tables and periodicities and punctuation/ spelling errors.)

http://www.brp.com/en-ca/company/news/brp-provide-lower-hp-evinrude-outboard-engines-tohatsu
http://blog.boats.com/2011/10/brpevinrude-announces-deal-with-tohatsu-for-small-outboards/#.VN4AJubF--k

[puckster_guy]

 Interesting to know. However I've never seen that brand sold in Canada.

[johnny walleye]

it is true tohatsu, nissan  and mercury all the same.

[SgtCrabby]

Years ago I bought a little "kicker" engine from Sears, had the Sears Game fisher branding,  it is a Tohatsu under the cover.  I discovered that when looking for parts recently  .  Carburetor parts are no longer available from both companies, but you can buy a complete carburator. It is a 1.2 horsepower and it could move a canoe nicely.   
I know, I've seen chain saws with larger engines.